Today, you would be 83, beloved Bubbele.
It seems strange to hold you in my heart , on yet another birthday
Even though you left the earth those seven years ago.
I’m still so happy you were born.
I learned and changed so much.
You opened doors, your love still felt by many.
You are still my teacher, as I learn from you how a life, though ended,
Echoes forward down the ages,
How love continues on its way, as people you have loved
Give of that love to neighbors, friends, and family –
And they pass it along to others , who send it out to yet a thousand more,
An energetic ripple that gains power over time,
No longer named “Ellen,” but simply “Love.”

Reflection

My beloved Ellen (Ellen Scheiner, MD,) died in November, 2008. Today is the 83rd anniversary of her birth in Brooklyn, NY. She always used to say as a birthday greeting, “I’m so glad you were born!” — brilliantly shifting the focus of the birthday celebration to the beauty of life rather than the grim progression of years. I’m realizing, as I think of her today, how the world’s gladness that a person was born continues to ripple out even after that person has left the physical plane, and how the good that we do in life is eternal, even if it is no longer linked with our name. I’ve sometimes wondered if I would really leave a legacy. Today, I’m appreciating, for the first time, that the energy I’ve put forth in service and kindness will be my eternal legacy, as Ellen’s love and generosity are hers, echoing down the ages where she is remembered and — more and more — where she is not. Ellen, I’m so glad you were born — more and more as the years pass.

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About Rev. Rosemary Hyde, Ph.D.

I am a grandmother, a classical homeopath, a mystical poet, and an interfaith minister. I also have a large, enduring place in my heart for Paris. I first spent time in Paris in 1961, as a Fulbright scholar. I remained in France for three years, living also in Toulouse and in Nancy. I have revisited France and Paris multiple times since then, and have come to know central Paris reasonably well. I grew up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where there were many Franco-Americans, and their language fascinated me. I was fortunate in 6th grade, when my family moved, to find myself in a Catholic French speaking girls' school, where I had the wonderful fortune of becoming bilingual. It still feeds my soul deeply, to visit Paris, speak French, and reconnect with the little French girl in me.
I am serving presently as co-minister at Unity Center of Peace in Chapel Hill, NC. I give talks one or two Sundays a month -- please go to the website, www.unitychapelhill.org, and sign up for the weekly e-news to learn what's going on -- special events, seasonal interfaith ceremonies, and Sunday themes and talks. My vision for the Unity Chapel Hill ministry and for myself is to become a loving, uniting presence in the lives of all those who cross paths with us. That's all there is, really -- loving presence. And so it is. Amen.
My goal as a minister is to add richness to life for those who resonate to more than one religious tradition or to none -- those with mixed religions as well as the unchurched, untempled, and unmosqued.
All of us, whatever our cultural allegiances, hunger for and need support in finding the transcendent joy that's ours to find in this earthly life. All of us need and want to celebrate beautifully the great and small milemarker moments. All of us crave the beauty of prayer as an expression of our participation in universal love. All of us wish to learn a greater vision, to see our lives opening to the Divine. All of us desire deeply to find serenity and peace that lasts no matter what happens today and tomorrow.
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